Thoughts (And a Winner!) From Maggie Daniel Caldwell, Our Guest Judge for "Baking Cakes in Kigali"

Many thanks to writer, photographer and blogger (Life in a Skillet) Maggie Daniel Caldwell, our fabulous guest judge for the Cook the Books December/January pick "Baking Cakes in Kigali."  Maggie took much care over reading each of our entries and as a group called us "quite accomplished." It wasn't an easy decision to pick a winner but I'll let her tell you about it in her own words! ;-)

From Maggie:

Thank you so much Deb, and the others at Cook the Books Club, for inviting me to join you this month! I loved reading each of your blog posts; it was a great way to revisit the book, and you all impressed me in different ways with your observations and choices. A few thoughts from each of the entries:

Claudia of Honey From Rock: I enjoy Nancy Atherton's books, too, and am impressed that you made two different cakes. That Blackberry Mochi cake sounds delicious.

Camilla of Culinary Creations with Camilla: I'd never heard of Hummingbird Cake before and enjoyed the scan of that original recipe. It reminds me a bit of the pineapple upside down cake that Mom always makes for my dad's birthday. Your Kitchen Elves are quite accomplished at marzipan - I'm jealous!

Rossella of Ma che ti sei Mangiato?, (But you've Eaten?): You were very clever to make devil's food cake as a counterpoint to Angel's name, and I think the photograph of the slice of cake with tea that is dedicated to her is a touching gesture. 

Debra of Eliot's Eats: I've added instant pudding to boxes of cake mix but never thought about sour cream. I imagine it adds tons of moisture with a nice zing. And that frosting - wow. Those three colors are very happy, and I do think that Angel would approve. 

Simona of Briciole: Your recipe for Beans in Cashew and Tomato Curry looks fabulous and more than a little sophisticated. I'll definitely try this one out; I have a son who loves spice and beans but hates meat, so I think it will be a winner. And what a coincidence to find baskets woven in Angel's homeland - I often find, while reading a story, connections in real life that I may not have noticed. 

Rachel of The Crispy Cook: What a fantastic summary of the book! I agree that Angel is quite quotable, and in my house it is also "tea time all the time." Imigongo is an interesting art form; it reminded me of the elephant dung sculptures that were so scandalous several years ago. My kids are giggling about stumbling across the google results page for "dung art!" 

Deb at Kahakai Kitchen: I loved learning about cassava root and appreciate that you described the texture as well and the best way to prep. It's not an ingredient I've every used, but now if I ever see it I'll be inclined to try it out. I also think it was a stroke of genius the way you followed your instincts and married a traditional Rwandan dish with Marcus Samuelsson's berbere. 

With all of these great blog posts, you can see that it was difficult to choose a winner. But I awoke very early this morning, before dawn, with a very clear notion of who should be the winner: Culinary Creations with Camilla. Just like Angel, who baked cakes as a means to solve problems, Camilla baked a cake to help solve the problem of honoring a book she just didn't care for. Her Hummingbird Cake was brightly colored and the marzipan birds intricate and festive - both details of which Angel would wholeheartedly approve. Best of all, though, she involved her "kitchen elves" in its creation. For me, engaging by cooking with others - especially your children, in this case - really captured the spirit of "Baking Cakes in Kigali." 

Congratulations Camilla!  

Please share your win with the fabulous 'kitchen elves" that helped create your beautiful Hummingbird Cake.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this round and especially, a big mahalo to Maggie. We hope to have her join in with us as a participant in the  future-maybe for our February/March selection: Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens by Andrew Beahrs, hosted by Simona of briciole.

Aloha!

Baking Cakes in Kigali: The Roundup + A Bit About Our Guest Judge

Many thanks to all of the "clever somebodies" who journeyed to Rwanda with our December / January selection of "Baking Cakes in Kigali" by Gaile Parkin. It was fun to read your posts and to see what dishes the book inspired you to make. It seems that were closely divided between the sweet and the savory in this round and whether you were drawn to something sweet from Angel's cake baking business or a hearty dish with African flavors and ingredients, I am sure Angel would be proud and feel even more like a 'professional somebody' since she inspired some truly creative cooking.

Since most of Angel's client meetings and talks started with cupcakes or slices of cake, we will start with our sweet treats first and end with the savory (as they say, "life is short--eat dessert first!"), and then I'll introduce you to our terrific and talented guest host for this round, Maggie of Life in a Skillet.

My fellow Hawaii blogger, Claudia of Honey From Rock thought that the book "was a wonderful glimpse of life in a distant land and culture, modern-day Rwanda, albeit in a place (University housing) heavily influenced by Western thinking, customs, food, etc., with a resultant struggle by some of the local people to hang on to African  traditions." Claudia made two unique cakes for her post--Sticky Lemon Cake and a Blackberry Mochi Cake and speaking like the true foodie she is says, "Delish!  It's all about the taste, not the fancy icing and shapes."

Camilla of Culinary Creations with Camilla was not a fan of the book feeling, "There was plenty of breadth in the cast of characters, but all of them lacked depth. Even Angel, the protagonist, felt two-dimensional to me. And the food...well, there was a lot of cake and a lot of tea. But there were no real image-evoking descriptions of either." Still, it inspired her to get her 'kitchen elves' to help make a beautiful colorful cake. She says, "One of the boys had ordered a slice of Hummingbird Cake somewhere at sometime. Since Angel's cakes were elaborate and brightly-colored, we decided to try making a Hummingbird Cake with red marzipan flowers."

We have a new friend to welcome to Cook the Books, Rossella of Ma che ti sei Mangiato?, (But you've Eaten?) joining us from Italy for the very first time. Naturally, Rossella's post is in Italian so please forgive my reliance on Google Translate here! ;-)  If I understand it correctly, the book in Italy is titled "Di Il Profumo Dello Zucchero a Velo" or "The Scent of Powdered Sugar." (LOVE that!) Rosella made a decadent Devil's Food Cake with a big slice for Angel to enjoy with a cup of tea, quoting the line that “When someone is unhappy, tea is like a mother’s embrace.” Welcome Rossella!

Debra of Eliot's Eats says about Angel, "Lots of stories and secrets are shared around her table over cups of tea. She becomes a surrogate mother not only to her grandchildren, but also to this eclectic group. Angel has the wit and wisdom to lead her extended family to certain truths, all while polishing her glasses to what must be a sparkling shine." Debra was inspired to bake some wonderfully colorful Citrus Cupcakes with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting saying, "Because I could never hope to match Angel’s skill in cake making and decorating, I opted for simple cupcakes. I used my basic recipe for citrus cupcakes and frosting  and decided to make the frosting as colorful as possible."

Now for the savories:

CTB co-host Simona of Briciole says, "While the reader may not always agree with the way Angel goes about "fixing" the world, it is difficult to be hard on her, given her good intentions. In parallel to her activity on behalf of others, she is also trying to understand and accept what happened to her son and daughter, especially the latter, from whom she was rather estranged before her death." Simona took inspiration from a Gambian recipe and made Beans in Cashew and Tomato Curry, a dish that 'satisfies the palate'. 

Rachel, The Crispy Cook and fellow Cook the Books host states "Parkin is a native of Zambia and was a counselor in Rwanda for two years after the genocide, so I felt that the subjects she brought up and dialogue rang true throughout the tale. Despite all the heavy content, the tone of the book is largely upbeat and hopeful, though certainly, the world has not taken the mantra "never again" to heart all around the globe, but particularly sad in the nearby Central African Republic." Rachel cooked up some Mchicha, "a Tanzanian spinach and peanut stew, in honor of Angel's homeland" that she served over stewed kidney beans and proclaimed "a very tasty meal to honor this satisfying book."  

Finally, At Kahakai Kitchen, I was lucky enough to stumble across some cassava root at the farmers market. Cassava (primarily the leaves/greens) was mentioned a few times in the book so I did a little research on Rwandan cuisine and came up with a hearty Pinto Bean and Cassava Stew with Greens. I cannot claim that it was an exact replica of a regional dish since I added some additional spices for extra flavor so we will call it 'Rawandanish.' It seemed like something Angela might have cooked for her family and with her generous spirit, kindly shared with the street children hiding in the dumpster in her complex. 

There you have it--some fantastically-inspired dishes! Thanks to everyone who joined in this round. As usual you all outdid yourselves with your posts and your culinary creations--you won't make it easy for our guest judge.

So let's meet the "special somebody" who will be judging this round. When I couldn't seem to connect with our author Gaile Parkin, I looked for someone who had both a passion for the book and a love for food. Once I read her post capturing the spirit of the book, I knew I definitely found the perfect match in Maggie Daniel Caldwell!

A bit about Maggie:

Writer and photographer Maggie Daniel Caldwell was pleased to be asked to judge this contest; she is a voracious reader and a big fan of "Baking Cakes in Kigali." She shares her bite-sized thoughts about food, family, and culture on her blog Life in a Skillet. Maggie lives on the Central Coast of California, where she was inspired to create the coloring book  Animalfish Alphabet. You can see her photos of the area at http://project365.lifeinaskillet.com.

Many thanks to Maggie for taking the time to review our posts and pick a favorite! I'll be back soon with the announcement of our 'winner'. Until then, you can get started on our February/March selection: Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens by Andrew Beahrs, hosted by Simona of briciole.

Aloha! 

Our December / January Book Pick: Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin

Usually when I select a book for Cook the Books, it is something I read, really enjoyed and want to share with others. I try to look for foodie books that take us as CTB readers to a different place or time, which is why I chose Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Perkin as our December / January book selection without reading it first. While perusing the shelves at BookEnds, my favorite local bookstore in Kailua, I stumbled across this book. Caught by the colorful spine and cover and the word "cakes" in the title, I opened it up to find a charming story about a cake baker in modern-day Rwanda. I had visions of cakes and exploring Rwanda and its cuisine with my Cook the Books friends.  

In Baking Cakes in Kigali, Angel Tungaraza bakes her colorful cakes and gives hope in the heart of Rwanda, a country recovering from war and horrific acts against its citizens. Angel is a busy woman, raising her five grandchildren and running her popular baking business while still taking the time to listen to the stories of her customers and to share her wisdom with them. The stories aren't all pleasant--war, abuse, genocide, AIDS..., but there is an overall feeling of hope and humor throughout the book. I took a bit of a chance announcing this book as my pick before doing more than turning a few pages but, after actually reading it, I am glad that I did. I hope you find it as engaging as I do and that it inspires something delicious.

Anyone is welcome to join in reading, cooking a dish inspired by this book, and then blogging about it. The deadline for this round is Monday, January 27th. Either email me at debinhawaii@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post with the link to your entry post. Judging information will be coming soon!

Happy Reading!